"Prince", the Welsh mountain pony

Festival Express Film - The ill-fated Canadian train tour by Dead, Joplin, Band etc rumbles to life after decades in purgatory

A good review from the San Francisco Chronicle.
I just can't help being a deadhead at heart. I don't suppose it will make general release over here so I'm looking forward to the DVD. I just hope it's available in Region 2 as I don't have a multi region player. If it's only region 1 I may have to consider an upgrade!

Gavin Poolman remembers using the film cans containing the only existing work prints of "Festival Express" for hockey goals. His parents were divorced, and his father, who was the original producer of the film, moved often. Young Poolman never could understand why his father insisted on lugging around this stupid collection of heavy film canisters. At one point, he dragged the cans out of the garage and stacked them in the street to serve as goalposts.

But in the mid-'90s, after he grew up and went into the film business in London, Poolman was contacted by a film researcher from Canada who was trying to find the footage, and Poolman knew exactly where to look.

"He'd found the negatives to this stuff," Poolman said. "Apparently he'd been looking for it for years."

BBC NEWS | Education | Wild parrots settle in suburbs

BBC NEWS | Education | Wild parrots settle in suburbs: "
The number of wild parrots living in England is rising at 30% per year, says an Oxford University research project."

I haven't seen any parrots in Bristol yet, but we had a woodpecker in the garden this morning. He had a very bold red cap but unfortunately he had gone by the time I had found the camera.

Project Parakeet is an indepth study of the growth of the parrot population in the UK. There are some interesting pics in the section 'Identifying UK Parrots' e.g.

Abigail's view

NASA - Cassini-Huygens: Close Encounter with Saturn

Loads of excellent photos at NASA - Cassini-Huygens: Close Encounter with Saturn

England v Croatia

Finally, at the crucial moment, England played like a decent team. Croatia played really well and kept coming back to worry the England goal. Niko Kovac, particularly, stood out. Wayne Rooney proved that he is is, actually, pretty good and Scholes got his mojo back after 3 years to score with a very impressive header. England's win was finally cemented by Frank Lampard in the 79th minute.
More at BBC SPORT | Football | Euro 2004 | Croatia 2-4 England

from The Diamond Sutra

'All phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble and a shadow,
Like dew and lightning.
Thus should you meditate upon them'.

The Vajracchedika-prajna-paramita Sutra

Looking

Red Hot Chilli Peppers Live in Hyde Park

It was an excellent day. Although the weather was predicted to turn cold wet and stormy, in the end the gods smiled on the crowd and kept it cool with just a small shower. Chicks On Speed drew a hostile reaction from the crowd and were,in fact, booed off stage! For their sake, I hope they get better or it's going to be a bad week for them. James Brown showed himself to still be the Godgrandfather of soul, giving a powerful performance with highly professional support from his band.

Hear this gig live over at the Radio 1 website. There's also a photo gallery, which makes this a valid entry for 'Photoblogging in the UK', even if none of them are my own, and a reviews page.

More info on the band at The Official Red Hot Chili Peppers Website

Footcare

Help Wanted: Can you name this shrub?

What is this? It has long sharp thorns to deter close encounters but does have this very pleasant blossom in Spring.

England v Switzerland

I wouldn't say that I was a fan of football; I don't play it and I don't watch it every Saturday and I certainly don't follow a team. For the big matches like the current UEFA 2004, I felt unmoved by the advertising and the hype, couldn't even name the players (well, apart from Beckham, maybe Scholes, Ferdinand maybe).
However, on Sunday, with the 1st match being against the favourites, France, and my son strongly declaring his interest in watching it on our one and only tv, I succumbed. If I had really cared about the result, how awful I would have felt by such a crushing defeat by a vastly superior team. In fact, I did feel a little hollow. From being 1-0 up in the 1st half of the match, 'our' team spent the rest of the time hysterically defending this fragile lead until reduced to fouling anyone that came close to the England goal, which was depressingly frequent. This madness resulted in the giving away of 2 goals in the dying minutes of the match and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I definitely didn't want to watch any more.
Well, here I am, having just watched England's win over Switzerland. The Swiss team played consistently well and didn't really deserve to be reduced to 10 men in the second half. England showed a few good moments but are still remarkably inconsistent. Not quite as bizarre as against the French. Maybe it's the heat. Why am I beginning to care?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Teleportation breakthrough made

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Teleportation breakthrough made: "Scientists have performed successful teleportation on atoms for the first time, the journal Nature reports. "

Rose & Co.

Somewhere different

Organic Design 2

Organic Design 1

nmazca.com : fractalism : fractal buddha realms

These are quite beautiful if
a) you are inclined towards Buddhism and
b) love fractals.
Got me on both counts.

Don't let the wheels of your own mind drive you crazy

60's flashback

Go here for a more dynamic version. It's a sixties screensaver, changing every 20 seconds.

More on the H2G2 Movie

The H2G2 Movie started filming on April 19th 2004 and I'm pleased to see Martin Freeman (from The Office) as Arthur Dent, Warwick Davis (remember Willow?) as the body of Marvin the paranoid android and the mighty Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast.
Poor Douglas Adams had largely rewrtten H2G2 for the movie version but he tragically died before it's completion, so Karey Kirkpatrick (of Chicken Run) was brought in to finish it.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Movie Blog

Anything to do with the HHG is worth a look, and now we have The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Movie Blog. Today they have launched a photo gallery. There's only 1 photo in it, so it's not really what I would class as a gallery yet, but it's good one. Check it out

Do Pigeons Dream?

A fascination with taps

Betty the Crow

In this movie, shot in 2002, you can see Betty the New Caledonian crow first use a straight piece of wire but seems to realise after a few attempts that it would be impossible. Incredibly she then fashions the end of the wire into a hook shape by wedging it into a crack and bending it.
Here's some stills from the movie, capturing some key moments:

Betty the Crow

There's an interview with Alex Kacelnik about Betty in this week's New Scientist or you can visit

• Behavioural Ecology Research Group


• Early report on Betty at New Scientist online magazine

The Stapleton Record has moved

I've moved my blogs that purely relate to Stapleton to a new blog, The Stapleton Record
and renamed the current blog to reflect the direction this one seems to be going in. So the other one appeals to my sense of order and this to my sense of disorder!

The 1999 Solar Eclipse over Stapleton

Solar Eclipse over Stapleton on Wednesday, 1999 August 11 around midday.
I took this photograph, during my lunchbreak, with an Olympus OM1.
The light was quite unusual , very different from moonlight. Before the eclipse there had been considerable chatter from the birds then, as it grew darker,all conversation quickly dropped off until an eery silence was added to the alien light. After a short while,just a few minutes I think, the light began to return to normal and with it the birdsong and normal life returned. A very interesting experience.
More info on this eclipse can be found here

In the garden today

Sunset over Eastville Park, Bristol

Slough election won on roll of a dice

BBC NEWS reports that: "Two candidates in Slough were forced to roll a dice to decide the outcome of the election after two recounts failed to split them. The Tory beat the independent." I've never heard of such a way to decide a democratic election!
This, for my sins, was my town of birth and, fittingly, the setting for Ricky Gervais' "The Office". A village originally known as Upton-cum-Chalvey as it first grew organically from a a muddy puddle (a slough) with a coaching inn, then faster with the advent of rail and the telegraph (the high tech of the day which enabled a criminal escaping from London to be nabbed by the rozzers at Slough railway station). Growth then artificially accelerated between the world wars by an influx of migrants from Wales , Ireland and the north of England together with a massive building program of council housing. While Slough was very successful in terms of employment, housing, social welfare etc, my memories are of a rather bleak and characterless place. When I first ventured away in my teens and discovered historic and wealthy places nearby like Datchet, Eton & Windsor on one side and Ivor Heath (when Pinewood Studios was still in full swing) on the other side, I could not help but see my home town in a poorer light. Mind you, that was in the '70's and I was drawn to the bohemian tribal lifestyle of collective living and pretty well anti-everything-that-was-straight. God, I was so immature! Now I understand why parents worry so much about their children.

R&B music legend Ray Charles dies

The legendary R&B musician, nicknamed 'The Genius' Ray Charles died last night aged 73, in Los Angeles. He died of acute liver disease, which was diagnosed after he underwent hip replacement surgery.
Apart from his musical legacy, he actively supported Martin Luthor King in the 60's by raising money for legals costs incurred when Martin was jailed after deliberately breaking the law.


R.I.P. Ray

War Diaries of Stapleton Tench Eachus

While searching for any references to Stapleton I came across the War Diaries of Stapleton Tench Eachus
The entry for the 9th June reads:
"Another cold night. Poured with rain all night, which has made the ground quite sodden. We have only one blanket and ground sheet per man and no wooden floors, which in such weather is both uncomfortable and dangerous for the men to lie down. Went on route march after the 2nd parade through the most beautiful country imaginable. The fair fields of France are fair indeed to look upon and are justly entitled to such distinction, for an hour I passed through waving corn-fields and rich pasture lands, all ablaze in brilliant colours, vivid red poppies, blue corn-flowers and flowers of countless hues, intermingled with the growing corn and spread out in all directions in picturesque patches on the cultivated slopes and in the valleys, Abbeville with its elegant spires and pinnacles could be plainly seen in the distance. It was indeed a truly glorious spectacle of peace and prosperity. Our path suddenly dipped sharply down into the valley of the Somme towards the village of Epagnette and upon gaining the main road, halted and adjourned into a cafe, where we indulged in some selections of light French wine. Arrived back in camp about 12 noon. Dinner 1 pm, parade at 2 pm, when we were tested in telegraphy which lasted until tea time, afterwards had shave and clean up and went down to the cafe where I called yesterday and conversed in French with Monsieur et Madame and their daughter. I remained with them until 10 pm partaking supper at their table, which consisted of steak, sausages and beans together with beer followed by a couple of eggs especially fried for myself and two cups of tea. The whole only costing me 1f 50c."

This paints an idyllic view of the war in France , with a very poignant remark about the flowers in the fields, but it was only his 3rd day in this country. Things will soon take a turn for the worse.

The diaries had been kept in a box and used as payment for a car repair inthe 70's. The new owner had held on to them until 1998 when he sold them to Jon Wickett. Jon has since transcribed the 15 diaries in their entirety , believing that they stand as a remarkable record of the times. The 1st diary is available online , the rest are for sale. Canny fellow!

Pepys' Diary

I have discovered that Pepys' Diary has been (or should I say 'is being') admirably translated to the blog format. Each day a new entry from the famous diary is added to the blog, which adds a dynamic interest.
Another advantage of this format is that both the creator of the blog and those reading it have added a considerable no. of annotations.
For example, in the entry for the 8th June 1661 which starts

'To Whitehall to my Lord, who did tell me that he would have me go to Mr. Townsend, whom he had ordered to discover to me the whole mystery of the Wardrobe',

we can see that Whitehall referred to the Palace, 'my Lord' was Sir Edward Mountagu (Earl of Sandwich and Master of the Wardrobe , was a distant relation of Pepys and they attended the same school at Huntingdon) and that Thomas Townsend was Clerk of the King's Great Wardrobe.

Cottage Gardens

ACS Education - Landscape Design has an interesting list of plants ssuitable for the cottage garden plus advice on planning.

Brachyscome multifida

Mystery Fly

Today in my Garden

The Transit of Venus

Hope I can get down to Castle Green to watch the Transit through the Bristol Astronomical Society and Bristol University telescopes.

The Dalai Lama on China, hatred, and optimism

I came across this conversation with the Dalai Lama. Fascinating.

Gardening for wildlife

Planting non-native species can sometimes introduce diseases that seriously affect native ones eg Dutch Elm disease. Dutch Elm Disease is the fungus, Ophiostoma ulmi, which is spread by the bark beetles Scolytus scolytus and Scolytus multistriatus. These beetles feed in the upper branches of the tree and introduce the fungal spores to exposed tissue. Once infected the disease spreads rapidly and unless treated at the early stages the tree will not survive. Although the disease was first recorded in the UK in 1927 it was a non-aggressive strain and had a very limited impact. However in the 1960's a more aggressive strain, originating from North America, was imported into this country via diseased timber. Within 10 years 50% of all English elms in the south of Britain had been destroyed. Further north the effects were less devastating due to climate and relative isolation.
Japanese Knotweed is a prime example of introducing a foreign species that then thrives due to having no natural enemies, much to the detriment of local flora and fauna.
With the destruction of local species comes the reduction and eventual loss of all those that depend on them ; butterflies and birds being particularly sensitive.

Visit The Natural History Museum's Postcode Plants Database. It has provided us with an extensive database of native flora searchable by postcode based on the Atlas of the British Flora, 3rd Edition (published by the Botanical Society of the British Isles, 1982).
Using the Postcode Plants Database to identify suitable plants, gardeners and householders can contribute directly to native species conservation in Britain.

In my postcode area, I found that there are over 600 native species , including

• 142 annuals, e.g. Anthemis cotula (Stinking Chamomile!)


• 38 biennials, e.g. Campanula glomerata (Clustered Bellflower)


• 6 climbers, e.g. Clematis vitalba (Traveller's-joy)


• 43 geophytes, e.g. Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Iris)


• 59 herbaceous perennials


• 17 large shrubs or small trees


• 19 large trees


• 36 marsh plants


• 202 perennials


• 2 parasites ie Cuscuta europaea (Greater Dodder) and Viscum album (Mistletoe)

Eye

Eye

Eagle Sculpture in Ashton Wood , Bristol

Madeleine
�2004 D.Sandilands

Dalai Lama's visit to the UK

Listen to the Dalai Lama's recent talk at Glasgow

Join the Free Tibet Campaign

Cookie the kitten, from 2003 

Single Pigeon considers a trip to Wales  

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The new HP film was released today and, as it was a Bank Holiday and the weather a little on the damp side, we just had to go and see it.
The opinion of my 2 teenage children is that the book beats the film hands down. Though I quite enjoyed it, Lord of the Rings towers above any of the Harry Potter films.
The Hippogriff and the werewolf are excellent animations and overall the interaction between the real actors and computer generated imagery was very realistic.
This is a bit darker than the other 2 films, which , combined with Harry Potter and chums growing up a bit and some well placed cameos by actor/comedian favourites Lenny Henry & Dawn French plus the wonderful Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney, has resulted in an entertaining film. Due to the length of the book many scenes have been either cut altogether or condensed to the point that important moments are fleeting at best.

*** stars

Hello World

Welcome , dear stranger, to the Tulgey Wood, where all the borogroves are eternally mimsy, just as they should be. This small node is intended to be a record of my favourite photos with occasional commentary on anything that takes my fancy.

Please feel free to add a comment as the Wood will otherwise feel uncared for and could wither and die of loneliness. No pressure then :)